Slightly Unprofessional

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i had that last year when i applied...i saw the letter and said screw u i wont give up on my dream to dental school...i mean what the dean should have done is to send u and me a letter to their masters program but yah...that was pretty rude
 
Rejection is tough, that's the truth. I applied twice, and I know several people in my class who applied two times or more. You're angry, frustrated, it's a stressful, expensive, and time consuming process. That being said, I also know lots of people who applied to dental school, got rejected and ended up doing other things. Similarly, I know people who got in, didn't like it and ended up doing other things.

They made a plug, so what? I got rejected from USC my first time and they showed me the average scores of their accepting class and it was like looking at my own transcript. Would you rather be told you're numbers are not good enough, so peach out. Or be told that there is no mistake that your numbers may serve you better purposes in other health professions? No one is holding a gun in your mouth and telling you to become a podiatrist, it was a suggestion. Who's to say the podiatry school at Western U. won't be famous some day? You can tell people "They offered me a spot there a long time ago, my numbers were pretty good, so it only made sense."

You can piss and moan and talk trash about a university you know nothing about and give people the impression that Western University of Health Sciences is "unprofessional," or you can go your own way, do your own thing, go somewhere that has accepted you, and become an exceptional dentist (or whatever you want to do) who doesn't have a stupid chip on their shoulder.

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
 
They made a plug, so what? I got rejected from USC my first time and they showed me the average scores of their accepting class and it was like looking at my own transcript. Would you rather be told you're numbers are not good enough, so peach out. Or be told that there is no mistake that your numbers may serve you better purposes in other health professions? No one is holding a gun in your mouth and telling you to become a podiatrist, it was a suggestion. Who's to say the podiatry school at Western U. won't be famous some day? You can tell people "They offered me a spot there a long time ago, my numbers were pretty good, so it only made sense.

The only reason you're getting defensive is because you go to Western Dental. If you didn't go there and looked at this objectively, then you would see it for what it is. It's pretty much a shameless attempt by their podiatry program to harvest potential students by using the contacts in their dental school application database. OP didn't apply to podiatry and wasn't even interested. They just sent some spam his way without his consent. I can understand them sending you a Masters program like Midwestern does since that can help you get into dental school. But no, this is more like a "Hey you're not good enough for our dental school, would you like to become a podiatrist instead? Something that's completely unrelated, but ITS GREAT!"

And Western podiatry school won't be famous one day, especially with low recruiting tactics like this. Stop trying to justify it as something positive.
 
The only reason you're getting defensive is because you go to Western Dental. If you didn't go there and looked at this objectively, then you would see it for what it is.

And Western podiatry school won't be famous one day, especially with low recruiting tactics like this. Stop trying to justify it as something positive.

👍
 
Wait, but if you got accepted instead of rejected and other people told you about this classless tactic, you would go straight to the dean and have this addressed immediately, right?

We'll get on top of it. 👍 Thanks for the feedback.
 
Rejection is tough, that's the truth. I applied twice, and I know several people in my class who applied two times or more. You're angry, frustrated, it's a stressful, expensive, and time consuming process. That being said, I also know lots of people who applied to dental school, got rejected and ended up doing other things. Similarly, I know people who got in, didn't like it and ended up doing other things.

They made a plug, so what? I got rejected from USC my first time and they showed me the average scores of their accepting class and it was like looking at my own transcript. Would you rather be told you're numbers are not good enough, so peach out. Or be told that there is no mistake that your numbers may serve you better purposes in other health professions? No one is holding a gun in your mouth and telling you to become a podiatrist, it was a suggestion. Who's to say the podiatry school at Western U. won't be famous some day? You can tell people "They offered me a spot there a long time ago, my numbers were pretty good, so it only made sense."

You can piss and moan and talk trash about a university you know nothing about and give people the impression that Western University of Health Sciences is "unprofessional," or you can go your own way, do your own thing, go somewhere that has accepted you, and become an exceptional dentist (or whatever you want to do) who doesn't have a stupid chip on their shoulder.

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

It's not the rejection that bothered me. Like I posted before, UPenn rejected me as well, yet I didn't feel the same after reading their email. The truth is, Western rejected me and I was fine with that. I wasn't "upset" until I received this second email a few weeks after being rejected suggesting that I apply to their podiatry program.

Had this been some random school who was recruiting for a podiatry program, I would have probably clicked delete and moved on. However, this was sent from the DEAN of your dental program. It was sent after your school supposedly "considered" my application. That would entail reading my personal statement that described my passion for dentistry, as well as seeing my countless hours of volunteer work and shadowing in the field. THAT is what bothered me, NOT the rejection.

Simply put, I thought it was disrespectful and unprofessional. That's it. That's all.

And also... it's not like they "offered me a spot" in that program. They didn't read through my files and think "hmm, I think podiatry is a better fit for this student" as you suggested. They simply used their dental admissions email list to promote another program. Whether you go there or not, If you can't see anything wrong with that, I would look again.

I'm not bitter. I got into another school. No biggie. I just thought I'd share this on here to see if anyone else felt that same and to maybe make you and your school aware of how this email is being taken.
 
It's not the rejection that bothered me. Like I posted before, UPenn rejected me as well, yet I didn't feel the same after reading their email. The truth is, Western rejected me and I was fine with that. I wasn't "upset" until I received this second email a few weeks after being rejected suggesting that I apply to their podiatry program.

its sooo funny how some people think:

"well he lowered his standards to work in people's mouths... maybe he'll be okay working on feet... INVITE HIM"
 
Wait, but if you got accepted instead of rejected and other people told you about this classless tactic, you would go straight to the dean and have this addressed immediately, right?

We'll get on top of it. 👍 Thanks for the feedback.

Someone who attends WesternU or received their only acceptance from WesternU will not have an unbiased view on this matter.

For those of us who have been accepted at other institutions and accepted OR rejected at WesternU will find this email a little offensive to say the least. If nothing else, it's unprofessional and reflects poorly on WesternU. We worked hard to matriculate into dental school not podiatry; if we choose to pursue podiatry then we will do so on our own accord.
 
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I'm just glad all of you stuck to your guns and are continuing to pursue careers in dentistry.
 
For those of us who have been accepted at other institutions and accepted OR rejected at WesternU will find this email a little offensive to say the least. If nothing else, it's unprofessional and reflects poorly on WesternU. We worked hard to matriculate into dental school not podiatry; if we choose to pursue podiatry then we will do so on our own accord.

👍
 
its really not the dental school's fault.

I bet the higher-ups (people even higher than the dean of the dental school ~ people with zero admission experience) are pushing this agenda on them. They don't underestand how much commitment students take on JUST TO SHOW proof that dentistry is their calling.


That may be true. WesternU has several health professional schools all on one campus so I can see someone higher up pushing this on ALL the programs, not just the dental program.
 
I don't use SDN, but after my classmate (DentistSomeday) here informed me of this thread, I felt the urge to chime in. I don't exactly see eye to eye with him (he's not as eloquent as the rest of us), but I do agree with spud daddy. (For the record, I'm a D1 at WesternU and this was NOT the only school I got accepted into)
I wish I could apologize to UBERlowGPA on behalf of my school. That's really crappy of our administration to push the podiatry program. From what I've observed about this university as a whole is that they pride themselves on having a variety of health professional colleges. I don't think the administration meant to offend you, but the school is trying to advertise the other programs (some of which are as new as the dental program). Seems like a low blow, but try not to take it personally. It looks like a stupid, generic ad that they decided to litter you with in case you change your mind.
Congrats on your acceptance to UOP, btw.
On a final, unrelated note, to the few haters out there: please don't trash this school. It makes me not like you.
 
I don't use SDN, but after my classmate (DentistSomeday) here informed me of this thread, I felt the urge to chime in. I don't exactly see eye to eye with him (he's not as eloquent as the rest of us), but I do agree with spud daddy. (For the record, I'm a D1 at WesternU and this was NOT the only school I got accepted into)
I wish I could apologize to UBERlowGPA on behalf of my school. That's really crappy of our administration to push the podiatry program. From what I've observed about this university as a whole is that they pride themselves on having a variety of health professional colleges. I don't think the administration meant to offend you, but the school is trying to advertise the other programs (some of which are as new as the dental program). Seems like a low blow, but try not to take it personally. It looks like a stupid, generic ad that they decided to litter you with in case you change your mind.
Congrats on your acceptance to UOP, btw.
On a final, unrelated note, to the few haters out there: please don't trash this school. It makes me not like you.

Many are concerned about this.
 
I have a question for everyone... and I am trying to stay as unbiased as I can...

What if Western still sent out the same email... but instead.... inviting the applicant to apply to their medical school.... would people still be offended?
 
I didn't mean to make it seem like I was attacking you or was being inconsiderate of your, or anyone else's, feelings about being slapped with random advertisements to pursue other career choices.

I apologize for my baseless and biased rants. I do not know nor can I speak for our dean or the College of Dental Medicine in determining how involved they are in wanting that e-mail to go out.

This is clearly a great concern for the image of our college and will be brought to the attention of our administration.

I wish you all the best of luck at UoP (my original first choice 😀) and look forward to not seeing any more threads about any university making irrelevant plugs.

🙂
 
I have a question for everyone... and I am trying to stay as unbiased as I can...

What if Western still sent out the same email... but instead.... inviting the applicant to apply to their medical school.... would people still be offended?

I would still take it the same way. My feelings were not tied to the fact that it was podiatry. They were tied to my personal goals and my application itself.

I'm not going to lie, Western wasn't one of my top choice schools. And before I get attacked, yes I have spoken with students there, researched the school, visited, and toured. I'm not saying it's a bad dental school (personally I don't think there is such thing), I just think it wouldn't have been a good fit. Maybe Western felt the same way and that's why I didn't get accepted. Regardless, I just felt like from what I saw at Western, this email did not fit the image of professionalism that the school stressed so much. I know your school is big on "interprofessional" studies and connecting the numerous graduate programs you have there, so I can see how an email like this could have been considered a "good idea." My intention in starting this thread was not to start a Western bashing thread, but rather to show that there is another way this email could be interpreted.

It seems like the issue is being addressed at your school, so I'm glad that the post may have a positive outcome in the end.
 
So in my mind it rolls like this:

1. People in medical school and outsides(fools) usually believe that everyone who becomes a pod, dentist, opt, pharm, med assistant,etc... are failed to be medical doctors. With that said.

2. Its just how they advertise, who else is their target how are they going to get more people into their pod program. They are relatively a new school, so in order to target audience they need find the desperate, need to do something now other wise my life is over, people who lose hope on their ability, after being rejected a cycle or 2 are the BEST kind of people to target. Because sooner or later they are "HIGHLY LIKELY" going to change their mind, (come one lets be honest not all 12000 are going to get in even after couple cycles).

SO WHY NOT PROVIDE THEM WITH THE OPPORTUNITY. ITS NO WAY BLOW IN ANYONE YOUR FACES. If you do not believe that something for you then just ignore it.

3. A lot of my friends have taken MCATS. Some scored on the low end, some on the high end, some on the average range. A LOT OF CARIBBEAN SCHOOLS started sending MAIL to the lower end MCAT score people. Its just a way to advertise everyone does it. Even most of the undergrad institutions who let other schools come in and talk to you about it. Even some advisers get paid for this crap. Even some medical schools go into other medical schools where they have internship opportunities for undergrads to support carrab, DO, etc... programs.

So dont make a big deal out of something which is not. Its a way for school to keep their program STRONG. With all that bs said.

Now, TO all the western students No one is going to judge you for this stupid thing that your admins do. You guys study just as hard as all other d-school students so dont worry too much about defending this crap.
 
If anyone is interested in knowing a little about what this letter was all about, I spoke with some upperclassmen about it and apparently the dean of our college was forced to send out that advertisement by the westernu administration that oversees the dental school and didn't like the idea any better than any of you who received it. He also thought it would appear unprofessional. The college of podiatric medicine has a lot of open spots to fill and all of the colleges were forced to send that same letter. I am sure it will catch the eye of those who are mostly looking into a health profession not necessarily dentistry (which all of you I am sure know a few). Anyway hope this clears up some questions.
 
If anyone is interested in knowing a little about what this letter was all about, I spoke with some upperclassmen about it and apparently the dean of our college was forced to send out that advertisement by the westernu administration that oversees the dental school and didn't like the idea any better than any of you who received it. He also thought it would appear unprofessional. The college of podiatric medicine has a lot of open spots to fill and all of the colleges were forced to send that same letter. I am sure it will catch the eye of those who are mostly looking into a health profession not necessarily dentistry (which all of you I am sure know a few). Anyway hope this clears up some questions.

CALLED IT:meanie:
 
It's not the rejection that bothered me. Like I posted before, UPenn rejected me as well, yet I didn't feel the same after reading their email. The truth is, Western rejected me and I was fine with that. I wasn't "upset" until I received this second email a few weeks after being rejected suggesting that I apply to their podiatry program.

Had this been some random school who was recruiting for a podiatry program, I would have probably clicked delete and moved on. However, this was sent from the DEAN of your dental program. It was sent after your school supposedly "considered" my application. That would entail reading my personal statement that described my passion for dentistry, as well as seeing my countless hours of volunteer work and shadowing in the field. THAT is what bothered me, NOT the rejection.

Simply put, I thought it was disrespectful and unprofessional. That's it. That's all.

And also... it's not like they "offered me a spot" in that program. They didn't read through my files and think "hmm, I think podiatry is a better fit for this student" as you suggested. They simply used their dental admissions email list to promote another program. Whether you go there or not, If you can't see anything wrong with that, I would look again.

I'm not bitter. I got into another school. No biggie. I just thought I'd share this on here to see if anyone else felt that same and to maybe make you and your school aware of how this email is being taken.


You're probably just automatically enrolled into their database and now the school is using it however they like.

Kind of like how I covered for my gf's victoria secret purchase on my CC and now I get a catalog every month...
 
Kind of like how I covered for my gf's victoria secret purchase on my CC and now I get a catalog every month...

Ir's a different situation. You personally gave your card information to victoria's secret and they're assuming you're interested in more VS items.

He specifically gave his information to the Western dental school, not the entire Western University of Health Sciences. Thus, he should not be receiving information about other programs because clearly he's not interested in them.
 
Ir's a different situation. You personally gave your card information to victoria's secret and they're assuming you're interested in more VS items.

He specifically gave his information to the Western dental school, not the entire Western University of Health Sciences. Thus, he should not be receiving information about other programs because clearly he's not interested in them.
:beat:
Your example is flawed. It is like saying if the purchase was a bra, by your logic, VS would only send you a catalogue with the specific type of bra you ordered because that is what you are interested in. But that is arguing semantics. There is no harm in offering information about different programs. It is not personal and although unprofessional, not malicious. The concern has been brought up the reason explained.
 
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:beat:
Your example is flawed. It is like saying if the purchase was a bra, by your logic, VS would only send you a catalogue with the specific type of bra you ordered because that is what you are interested in. But that is arguing semantics. There is no harm in offering information about different programs. It is not personal and although unprofessional, not malicious. The concern has been brought up the reason explained. NOW GET OVER IT!

Lol i'm not the one who revived this topic sir. If I ordered VS bras, sure I would be interested in other VS lingerie stuff. But would I be interested in VS basketball shoes? Probably not. Dentistry =/= podiatry. Sure you could argue they're both a form of medicine but in the end, they're pretty unrelated.

Isn't it funny how all the defensive people in this thread attend Western? You should probably stop taking it as a personal attack against your school. No one's saying that so calm down.
 
You are fooling yourself if you think some of the posts on this thread aren't considered attacks but it doesn't matter, the horse has been beaten and thank you for you concern.
 
Wait, should i be sad i didn't even get an email from them suggesting the podiatry program?! i'm offended.
 
Wait, should i be sad i didn't even get an email from them suggesting the podiatry program?! i'm offended.

First, that's pretty funny. Nice input.

Second, I was rejected from Western, sent information about the podiatry program, and was not offended. Just as I was not offended when I was not signed in to this site and saw an ad on the pre-dental page of SDN for a medical school. I was also not bothered seeing the ad about the old guy who is ripped and apparently thought I could benefit from a free healthy aging kit even though I'm in my 20's. I'm guessing most other people applying to dental school are around this age and aren't worried about aging. But, they are all seeing this ad.

My point is that people should not take this so seriously. I tend to agree with the post that says its aim is to provide the people who have not been accepted to dental school, even after a few cycles, another option they may not have considered. Maybe it was offensive to some people here, but maybe there are others out there who decided to pursue this option and it was very helpful. I don't know. This whole situation kind of reminds me of reading things about interviewing that say an interviewer may ask questions to try to get under your skin, just to see how you handle yourself under pressure. If an interviewer asked, "Why dentistry instead of podiatry?" you would not cuss them out, you would politely say that this is the direction your life experiences have pointed you. Application time is a very stressful time, don't let it get to you. Just roll with the punches, look at the bigger picture, do what you can to make yourself a stronger applicant if you haven't been accepted yet, and reapply to schools that have not left a negative impression on you.

Lastly, I do agree that it is difficult to get a read on the school with all the talk of the dean doesn't want send it out, but the even higher-ups are pushing him to. So, the decision maker here may be a little disconnected, but again, don't let it get to you. If you saw the pod thing and said "podiatry isn't for me," then just stay positive and do everything you can do be a great dentist who happened to graduate from somewhere else.

Good luck to all.
 
First, that's pretty funny. Nice input.

Second, I was rejected from Western, sent information about the podiatry program, and was not offended. Just as I was not offended when I was not signed in to this site and saw an ad on the pre-dental page of SDN for a medical school. I was also not bothered seeing the ad about the old guy who is ripped and apparently thought I could benefit from a free healthy aging kit even though I'm in my 20's. I'm guessing most other people applying to dental school are around this age and aren't worried about aging. But, they are all seeing this ad.

My point is that people should not take this so seriously. I tend to agree with the post that says its aim is to provide the people who have not been accepted to dental school, even after a few cycles, another option they may not have considered. Maybe it was offensive to some people here, but maybe there are others out there who decided to pursue this option and it was very helpful. I don't know. This whole situation kind of reminds me of reading things about interviewing that say an interviewer may ask questions to try to get under your skin, just to see how you handle yourself under pressure. If an interviewer asked, "Why dentistry instead of podiatry?" you would not cuss them out, you would politely say that this is the direction your life experiences have pointed you. Application time is a very stressful time, don't let it get to you. Just roll with the punches, look at the bigger picture, do what you can to make yourself a stronger applicant if you haven't been accepted yet, and reapply to schools that have not left a negative impression on you.

Lastly, I do agree that it is difficult to get a read on the school with all the talk of the dean doesn't want send it out, but the even higher-ups are pushing him to. So, the decision maker here may be a little disconnected, but again, don't let it get to you. If you saw the pod thing and said "podiatry isn't for me," then just stay positive and do everything you can do be a great dentist who happened to graduate from somewhere else.

Good luck to all.

👍
/thread
 
My point is that people should not take this so seriously.

I agree with this; however, it is a legitimate concern that should be brought up. Personally, I don't care; however, from what I remember about Western's interview emphasizing professionalism/humanistic approach, the action totally goes the opposite way of what they preach. I do not know any professional school that rejects a student and sends them a referall to a totally different program.

Who does that? Seriously. Not professional at all, and quite frankly, it's a slap in anyone's face. Now, some may take the slap as nothing and brush it off (like you do), and some may get their panties in a bunch and get all riled up(like the OP and other posters); however, the question remains that...was the letter really necessary ? Especially with zero (off the top of my head) professional schools doing the same thing. If I were a re-applicant, I would save my secondary money and apply somewhere else the next time around.
 
People are certainly overreacting about this.
 
I got the same letter. I talked to a student at Western dental who said I was lucky that I was rejected because the school is too corrupt especially after the previous dean stepped down his position. Apparrently, they dismiss first year students left and right for no apparent reasons or warning them a head of time, or giving them a second chance. She said the reputation of dental school is getting really bad amongst other colleges at western.
 
I got the same letter. I talked to a student at Western dental who said I was lucky that I was rejected because the school is too corrupt especially after the previous dean stepped down his position. Apparrently, they dismiss first year students left and right for no apparent reasons or warning them a head of time, or giving them a second chance. She said the reputation of dental school is getting really bad amongst other colleges at western.

Nice, right before people apply you bump this thread. You really want to go to western huh.
 
Nice, right before people apply you bump this thread. You really want to go to western huh.

😀👍 It's sad what tactics people will resort to when they don't work hard enough to achieve their goals by legitimate means.
 
😀👍 It's sad what tactics people will resort to when they don't work hard enough to achieve their goals by legitimate means.

👍👍

every dental school has some sort of problem. not enough seats for clinic, costs too much, professors out to get you... and i can go on and on. I promise, you would go to western in a heartbeat jaafar. Yeh they were unprofessional with the letter they sent, but so are you by trying tarnish a school's reputation.
 
I got the same letter. I talked to a student at Western dental who said I was lucky that I was rejected because the school is too corrupt especially after the previous dean stepped down his position. Apparrently, they dismiss first year students left and right for no apparent reasons or warning them a head of time, or giving them a second chance. She said the reputation of dental school is getting really bad amongst other colleges at western.

Wow, that is totally out of nowhere and completely inaccurate. I'm a second year at Western and I can assure you that the only part of this entire post that has an ounce of truth to it is the very first sentence. Glad to see that this person got banned.


peanutb123 said:
It's sad what tactics people will resort to when they don't work hard enough to achieve their goals by legitimate means.
+1
 
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Edit. wrong post 🙁
 
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This is getting blown way out of proportion. We attend a lot of dental conferences with colleagues and I can tell you no one cares what is said on SDN. Pre-dental students care and that is why I am saying that people that have have actually attended an interview here know that the flyer is not representative of the school. I appreciate the OP's feelings because I don't like the flyer either. But at the same time I think it is comical that people who haven't even applied to or seen Western or are even dental students are "weighing in" and acting like they know everything. Getting rejected sucks but it is a part of life. While I don't agree with the flyer, you gotta relax.

Maybe it is being blown out of proportion but you have to admit that if this is the only thing you know about Western (which it is for me at least) it doesn't reflect well. Kind of makes you wonder if the administration doesn't comprehend how this would be disrespectful to predents, do they understand how to treat their students?
 
If anyone is interested in knowing a little about what this letter was all about, I spoke with some upperclassmen about it and apparently the dean of our college was forced to send out that advertisement by the westernu administration that oversees the dental school and didn't like the idea any better than any of you who received it. He also thought it would appear unprofessional. The college of podiatric medicine has a lot of open spots to fill and all of the colleges were forced to send that same letter. I am sure it will catch the eye of those who are mostly looking into a health profession not necessarily dentistry (which all of you I am sure know a few). Anyway hope this clears up some questions.

:corny:
 
That is exactly what I think. They get paid very well , and its relatively easy to gain admissions to their schools. Avg DAT is about an 18, MCAT is about a 22-23. BUT I think the admission standards will increase soon.

actually. when i interviewed there, avg dat was 20 for 2010's class. no dschool avg's a 18. and its not relatively easy to gain admission to any dental OR D.O school. you should know that if you're going through this cycle
 
actually. when i interviewed there, avg dat was 20 for 2010's class. no dschool avg's a 18. and its not relatively easy to gain admission to any dental OR D.O school. you should know that if you're going through this cycle

I am speaking about podiatry school..what are you speaking about?
 
Wait, no one else found it funny that the OP got into the University of the Pacific, but not Western??? That's the REAL slap in the face.
 
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